Chapter
Biological Contributions to Suicide (IN: Suicide: Understanding and Responding: Harvard Medical School Perspectives, ed. by D Jacobs and H N Brown)
Arana G W~~Hyman S
This discussion of possible biological contributions to suicide includes evolutionary perspectives; causes of suicide in primitive cultures; a sociobiological synthesis of suicide; heritable factors such as family, twin, & genetic influences; & biological markers such as the pituitary-adrenocortical axis & biogenic amine metabolites. Recommends that psychiatric evaluation for suicide should include a thorough family history for suicide & calls for continued efforts to find a biological marker.